Same sex couples protest tax status

April 18, 2011

Produced by Eight Forty-Eight

As a result of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same sex married couples cannot file federal joint tax returns.

In some states many same-sex couples are using their returns to point out the effect that DOMA - The Defense of Marriage Act - has on their tax status. DOMA defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. So same sex married couples cannot file federal joint tax returns.

Bernard Cherkasov is CEO of Equality Illinois and he explained what same sex couples face during tax time.